Yahoo Finance Budget 2015: Government announces new childcare funding – but not everyone wins
The government has promised more childcare funding for families, but to the detriment of stay-at-home parents.
Social Services Minister Scott Morrison has revealed the government will help with childcare costs by paying directly to childcare centres in an effort to reduce upfront costs for families.
The $3.5 billion package, announced on Mother’s Day, will see families with an income of less than $165,000 better off by $30 each week, which is $1500 each year.
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The government will offer parents up to $110 of taxpayer money a day – or $9 an hour - towards childcare.
The new scheme will only be available from 2017, once the old system has been phased out.
Morrison explained that the scheme would include a Medicare-inspired card to ensure parents didn’t have to spend time filling out more paperwork.
“It will make it simpler for families and service providers and government to administer the system more cost-effectively and with less of a compliance burden,’’ Morrison said.
Who loses? Stay-at-home mums
In an effort to encourage parents to work, the government will tighten its eligibility requirements for childcare subsidies.
According to News Limited, families will only qualify for help if both parents are working, studying or training for at least eight hours each fortnight.
The more parents work, the more childcare help that will receive.
Parents working between eight and 16 hours a fortnight will be awarded with up to 36 hours of childcare.
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Those working 49 hours a fortnight would be eligible for up to 100 hours of childcare assistance.
Those who will lose out the most are families with an income more than $65,000 a year where a parent stays at home.
Families with a stay-at-home parent whose income is less than $65,000 will still be eligible for up to 12 hours of childcare a week, according to News Limited.
